May 2009: The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) held an expert meeting on the “Trade and Investment Opportunities and Challenges Under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)” in Geneva, Switzerland, from 27-29 April 2009. The event included presentations by academics, research institutions and country experts who explored ways to facilitate participation from developing countries and least developed countries in the CDM, and provided examples of how to overcome existing obstacles to greater CDM investment flows.

The meeting examined the present carbon market, and expectations of 1,335 million certified emissions reduction units (or CERs), amounting to roughly 13 billion Euros in new investments for the period 2008-2012. Experts concluded that the CDM’s achievements over the past four years far outweigh its difficulties and flaws, and as a result asked UNCTAD to assist in streamlining further investments under the programmatic CDM and in supporting developing countries in developing nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) to include innovative policy approaches related to reduced deforestation, clean energy production and use, and clean transport. [Expert meeting website]